Fire-escape



( 0 Model.)

J. HARPER. FIRE ESCAPE. 3Cyl Patented July 3, 1883,

N4 PETERS. Phmirlflhcgnphor. Waxhin tun. 0. c.

UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE.

JOHN HARPER, OF DUNCANNON, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO W. R. SVVARTZ, OF SAME PLACE, AND GEORGE W. MEILY, OF HAR- RISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

FIRE-ESCAPE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 280,741, dated July 3, 1883.

Application filed March 16, 1883. (No n'icdel.)

To all whom, it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN HARPER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Duncannon, in the county of Perry and State of Pennsyl 5 vania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fire-Escapes, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relatesto certain new and I useful improvements in fire-escapes; and it has for its object to provide mechanical means whereby persons may rapidly and safely escape from burning buildings.

In consists in the employment of a vertically- 1 5 traveling car, properly connected with perpendicular tracks or ways secured to the walls of the building, in connection with a motor for elevating the car and for retarding the momentum of its descent as it nears the earth, the peculiarities of which will be more fully hereinafter pointed out.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and on which like letters of reference indicate corresponding parts, Figure 1 represents a front elevation of a portion of a building having my invention applied thereto, and a vertical sectional view through a portion of the operating mechanism, and of the pit containing the same; Fig. 2, a

horizontal sectional view through the hood which overhangs the car, showing the upper elevating-pu1ley secured to the building; Fig. 3, a transverse horizontal section of the track and the cab1e-conduit, showing the same ap- 3 5 plied to the wall of the building; Fig. 4, a vertical sectional view of the car, showing the manner of connecting it with the tracks and the stop mechanism; and Fig. 5, a plan View of the hoisting-motor, showing the supporting devices in section. 1

. The letter A indicates the front wall of a building, to which are secured the tracks or ways A in any suitable manner. The said tracks preferably consist of sections of iron bent to the form indicated in Fig. 3.

- The letter B indicates the car, the same being constructed of any suitable material and in any desired form, the sideadj acent to the windows being left open or provided with a door for the entrance of the passengers. This car is connected with the tracks in the present instance by means of lugs 13, though I contemplate sometimes providing it with traveling rollers adapted'to fit behind the tracks and connected to the car by means of suitable brackets. The car is also provided with a spring-detent, O, which engages with apertures in the track near its upper and lower ends, by which means the car is held near the upper window until the entrance of passengers, and prevented from being elevated when emptied, a rope, G, being employed to operate the detent, as will more fully presently appear. The bottom of the car is provided with springs or cushions D, by which it is prevented from jarring when it comes in contact with the ground. Similar cushions or springs, D, are located near the upper end-of the track for the same purpose.

To the building, near the upper end of the track, is secured a grooved pulley or sheave, over which passes the hoisting-cable, one end thereof being secured to the car, and the other passing down through the conduit E and connecting with the elevating-drum F. This drum is preferably located in a vault or pit beneath the surface of the ground,- where it is excluded from view as well as from the effects of the fire, and is mounted upon a shaft, F, journaled in suitable bearings. To this is secured one end of a convolute operating-spring, G, the other end of which is secured to the shaft G, the latter being provided with a ratchet-wheel engaging with a pawl, the object of which is to set and hold the spring to the required tension, according to the size of the car and the condition of things.

The letter H indicates a brake-post, the same .being suitably fitted in the masonry above the drum, and its lower end being adapted to come in contact with the portion H thereof, in order to regulate the speed of the ascent of the car and to stop the same. I

The conduit E serves to prevent the hoisting-rope from being interfered with.

The size of the spring will be regulated according to the capacity of the car, and it is also observable that this invention, with little or no modification, may be used as an elevator for light purposes.

The operation ofmy invention will be readily understood when taken in connection with the above description, and is as follows: Let it be supposed that the point of escape is from the fourth story, and that the car is in position as indicated in the drawings, to which position it has been drawn by the rope C, and where it may be held by placing the feet of the attendant or of a fireman or policeman up 011 the brake H. The weight of the person entering the car causes the same to descend and at the same time to wind up the spring G, which, as the ear nears the ground, increases in resistance, thereby checking the momentum of the latter and causing it to strike lightly upon the ground, the slight jar being overcome by the cushions D. The car, being emptied, by means of the recoil of the spring, through themedium of the drum and cable, will ascend to the highest point of the track unless arrested by the rope or brake. The detent 0 serves to hold the ear until it loaded, should the loading take place from the window adjacent to the upper end of the track, and in which instance no attendant from below is needed, since the detent may be freed from the track by the passenger; this pawl also serves to hold the eardown by engaging with the aperture near that end of the track.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The combination, in a fire'escape, of the operating mechanism, the cable-conduit, and the vertical tracks provided with apertures near their upper and lower ends, with the traveling-car connected to the track and provided with a spring-detent and an operating-rope, substantially as shown and described.

2. In a fire-escape, the combination of the vertical track and traveling ear, the upper roller, and the cable, with the hoisting-drum provided with the convolute spring, and the setting-shaft having a pawl and ratchet, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN HARIEER.

\Vitnesses:

R. T. Bm'r'rY, EUGENE SNYDER. 

